The Secrets Hidden in a Pack of Cards
Whether it’s Poker, Go-Fish or even a friendly game of War, there is plenty of fun to be had with a deck of cards. However, playing cards are so common that many people take them for granted as just another household item taking up space in a desk drawer or kitchen cabinet. The fact that they seem so harmless is probably what made them the ideal tool for captured American soldiers in World War II.
The famous card company, Bicycle, created a set of playing cards with a secret map hidden between the layers of each card. American prisoners of war simply had to peel the cards apart and arrange them in the correct order to have all the information they needed to escape and find their way home. This isn’t the only use for playing cards in the military. Bicycle also created a special series of “Spotter Cards” which had the silhouettes of planes printed on them to help soldiers identify friend from foe when looking up from the battlefield.
While we ourselves have never created a set of actual cards, we have designed several playing card challenge coins. They may not help soldiers learn the silhouettes of enemy aircraft, nor do they contain a secret map in the design, however, they do capture a unique sense of team spirit and camaraderie.
JBSA Combat Dining Card Coin
Unlike the other examples we’re going to feature here, this playing card coin doesn’t follow suit; the design doesn’t include any references to hearts, spades, clubs or diamonds. In place of a card suit, the design uses the 737th Training Group’s emblem. The blue shield with the yellow “x” across the middle is a familiar symbol for any member of the team, making this card design more personal to the soldiers receiving them.
Just as the card suit defies convention, so does the value of the cards. On the top left corner and bottom right corner, the training group’s number is included in the place where the card's value would normally be located. The rest of the design follows the same format of a face card like a king, queen or jack, with the two faces mirroring each other. The only difference between them is that the skull face on the bottom is wearing a hat with the folded brim on one side to make room for the bottle opener cut out.
The back of the coin is an entirely different design. The two-tone color scheme, star pattern border, winged skull design and bold text are all reminiscent of the artwork you’d see on the back of a standard deck of cards, adding a layer of authenticity to the design. Another important aspect of this coin is the rounded edges. Instead of a sharp, square edge, these coins have slightly curved corners, giving them the perfect card shape.
Jack of All Trades
The world of playing cards has brought us a huge assortment of idioms. Most people who use them in everyday life do so without even thinking about it. A few of the most famous examples are to follow suit, to play your cards right and to have a card up your sleeve. This next playing card challenge coin is based on one of the most famous idioms of the playing card world: Jack of all trades.
These are firefighter challenge coins, not military unit coins like the others. Specifically, they’re created for members of the Scranton Fire Department. Like a true Jack of Spades, the design is mirrored. No matter which way is facing up, you’ll still be able to make out the intricate design of the right-facing fireman and his hooks, ax and cutters.
Instead of trying to create a new design based on the stylized backs of many other types of playing cards, the contact who created this coin decided a full 3D image was the best choice. The boney hand and skull face are presented in haunting detail. The black colorfill helps the antique silver design stand out in beautiful relief, but our favorite part of the design is the small card held between the skeleton's fingers.
It’s a miniature copy of the card design on the other side of the coin. We’ve seen coins that share design elements on both sides, but nothing like this before. It’s a great example of how much fun you can have when coming up with a custom coin design.
Ace in the Hole
This last playing card coin is the Tactical Air Ace of Spades. All of the coins in this list share a rectangular shape, however, this Tactical Air coin looks much skinnier because it’s less than an inch wide. Even though the coin is small, it still packs in plenty of detail like the intricate pinstriping around the edge and the careful detail of the spade design on the front of the coin.
The unique spade design with the skull in the center is our favorite part of the artwork. To this day, the Ace of Spades is the most unique card you’ll see in almost every deck. Different card company’s like Bicycle create intricate Ace of Spades designs with elaborate patterns and images woven into the artwork. They act as the company’s signature. This military Ace of Spades coin follows suit by having a unique spade design of their own to represent the unit.
Challenge coins are all about capturing a team’s unique sense of personality and building camaraderie in a group. To help make a memorable and meaningful design, we’ve created coins shaped like weapons, coins with inside jokes and hidden messages, and card-shaped coins that act as a literal calling card or team signature.
If you’re looking for a fun way to tell your team’s story, a custom card shaped coin might be exactly what you need. Lay your ideas on the table, and see what kind of design we can bring to life.
